The Largest Crowdfunding Event Happened In Just 24 Hours And Raised More Than $50 Million

Did you hear that clattering noise? It was the sound of records shattering across the U.S., thanks to generous Americans and their commitments to community.

Last Tuesday, May 6 marked Give Local America day, a 24-hour campaign pushing for people across the country to pull out their wallets in support of local nonprofits doing good in their own backyards. And boy, did America show up.

Dan Gillett, CEO of Kimbia, noted the use of social media as a major factor in the campaign's grassroots success. Twitter users spread the word on funding nonprofits in their own towns, and made sure to share the excitement through personal accounts:

On the Give Local America website, donors could select their community of choice from a participant list. Donors were then directed to a local page that detailed how much had been raised for that community specifically and which organization was coordinating local efforts.

While crowdfunding may seem like a new-age method of fundraising for nonprofits, Ben Lamson, of fundraising platform WeDidIt, argues that crowdfunding has been around for a while, citing the first telethon in 1949 -- it's just taken on a new form.

The Largest Crowdfunding Event Happened In Just 24 Hours And Raised More Than $50 Million

Top-Rated Nonprofits Helping Kids

1/ 10

Children of the Americas

Children of the Americas provides medical and surgical treatment to indigent children throughout the world, with a focus in Guatemala.
Testimonial: “With no paid staff and a volunteer board, they are providing essential health care services to some of the world's most desperate and impoverished people.”